Watch: How did the 40-acre Sengulam tank get desilted

The Sengulam tank near the famous Karuppasamy Temple on the Combai Road in Theni district has been given a facelift in a big way

Speaking to The Hindu, villagers said that the entire water body with a depth of 15-18 feet was filled with water lettuce, which proliferated in the water body.

The villagers, about a year back, appealed to the officials to remove them at the earliest as it reportedly posed a health hazard to many of them and their children.

It lead to an unknown type of mosquito attack, which left an itching sensation.

The irritation was high during winter and caused patches and bruises on the skin.

Learning about this, Theni Collector R V Shajeevana, after inspecting the tank, said that she would examine the modalities.

The then Revenue Divisional Officer (Periyakulam) and presently PA (General) to Collector, Muthu Mathavan and his team worked hard that the 40-acre tank with a depth of 15-18 feet, which was filled with lettuce was finally removed in about 100 days period.

Multiple department officials and engineers from the PWD, WRD, Rural Development, Panchayat officials were involved in the mission.